ISLAMABAD, September 7, 2026: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan has warned that dividing Sindh without the consent of its people could weaken the federation, calling for broad political consultation before any decision on creating new provinces.
Speaking to journalists outside the Supreme Court on Monday, Gohar said the creation of new provinces was a serious constitutional and political matter that should not be handled through controversial legislation or rushed decisions.
“Without the consent of the people, if Sindh is divided, the federation will become weaker,” Gohar said.
He stressed that any decision to create new provinces in Sindh, Punjab or Balochistan should involve the consent of the people and their elected representatives.
The PTI chairman said the creation of new provinces should be preceded by consultations similar to those held during the passage of the 18th Amendment.
Gohar warned against conducting what he described as political and administrative experiments without taking the public and elected representatives into confidence.
“Such experiments should not be conducted in the country,” he said, adding that hasty decisions over the creation of provinces could undermine national unity.
The debate over restructuring Pakistan’s administrative map has intensified in recent weeks, with political parties expressing different views on whether new provinces or administrative units should be established.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi recently said new administrative units would eventually be created and insisted that the process could not be stopped. He also called for a “reset” of the country’s system.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, meanwhile, proposed creating between 12 and 15 provinces and called for a national political debate on the issue.
Iqbal argued that Pakistan’s existing four provinces have become increasingly centralised and that administrative restructuring could improve governance.
The issue has generated particularly strong debate in Sindh, where opposition to dividing the province has intensified alongside demands for greater administrative devolution.
The Sindh Assembly has rejected proposals seeking changes to the province’s boundaries or the creation of new administrative units, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership has repeatedly opposed any division of Sindh.
Gohar also criticised the federal government over the stalled political dialogue, saying previous negotiations had largely remained limited to offers without meaningful progress.
He called for concrete steps to advance political engagement and said Monday was a day for meetings with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.
The PTI chairman demanded that the party’s political leadership and family members be allowed to meet Khan.
Imran Khan has remained imprisoned since August 2023 after facing convictions in several cases. He and his party have repeatedly described the legal proceedings against him as politically motivated.
Gohar also spoke about the recent visit of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to Karachi, saying the large public reception demonstrated growing dissatisfaction with the existing political status quo.
Afridi arrived in the coastal city accompanied by PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh as the party continued its political mobilisation campaign in Sindh.
The campaign comes ahead of a planned nationwide PTI protest on September 27.
Gohar said the turnout during Afridi’s visit showed that people were seeking political change and did not want to remain tied to the existing system.
The debate over new provinces is expected to remain a major political issue as parties continue to discuss Pakistan’s administrative structure, provincial autonomy and the balance of power between the federation and provinces.
